Abstract
Presently in today’s institution, there is a geometric rise in the number of students
admitted with a ration in the number for each department and level of study. This
variation in the number of students has posed a problem in allocating halls into
consideration for examination. Based on this, there is a so much need for a system
that would alleviate such problem. The project work “Design and implementation
of a web based hall allocation system for examination” tends to allocate halls for
examination by taking into consideration the availability of space to match the
number of students in each department for each level. Structured System Analysis
and Design Methodology (SSADM) were adopted in the analysis. A web based hall
allocation system for examination was developed using PHP.MySQL, HTML and
MySQL for the database. Design and implementation of a web based hall
allocation system for examination provides a more suitable and proper allocation
of halls for examination.
1 Background of the study
This present era has been termed to be an information age. An age where the
demand for information dramatically increased. The computer has been the most
useful thing for getting or accessing information nowadays.
The unending global and social change that we find ourselves in as a result of rapid
transformation from the industrial age to an information age brought about the
introduction of computer into the information industry. This introduction (the use
of computers) has rapidly affected all areas of life ranging from homes, industries
and of course the educational system.
According to a U.S General (Powell, 1995) who stated that “lack of information
breeds analysis paralyses”. This goes a long way to point out that without adequate
information on any subject matter, it would be difficult to handle. The computer is
not just used for getting or accessing information but also for allocating and
arranging ideas and information. This has led to the development of several
software and applications.
However, with the economic development and advancement in science and
technology, adding to the rapid increase in the population of the country (Nigeria),
education becomes the dream of every parent for her child, leaving behind the
initial philosophy against education. This lead to massive increase of students in
schools and there have been a silent cry for an efficient system that will manage
students and department numerous files in different universities.
Presently in the university, due to the increasing number of students, hall allocation
for both lecturer and examination has become a bone in the neck in the university
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However, this created a lot of problems associated with hall allocation and there
are no rigid guidelines as to which method should be used. This research work
“design and implementation of examination hall allocation system” will consider
the allocation of halls only for examination. An efficient utilization of hall
allocation for examination requires the combination of timing and capacity of the
halls.
2 Statement of the Problem
In recent time, the quest for allocating halls for examination is not carefully
planned. The Problems associated with the current hall allocation for examination
system are:
a The growing number of students in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka has
posed a lot of problems in the allocation of halls for examination especially
with departments with large number of students.
b Students and lecturers would have to move from one hall to another on
examination day due to the large factors, which have to be considered. Very
little work has been performed in analyzing the scope of this process or
developing a web based system.
c Human error such as typography and data redundancy.
d During allocation of hall much work is done in retrieving the files and search
for records before carrying out allocation.
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the study
The aim of this project work is to design and implement an automated hall
allocation system for examination.
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The objectives of this research work includes the following:
1 The primary objective of this research work is an initial feasibility survey on
the complexity and variety of the hall allocation problem within Nnamdi
Azikiwe University, Awka. Faculty of physical sciences. This is intended to
discover whether a generalized system could be created or whether the
problem is too varied to make such a system feasible.
2 The secondary objective is to obtain information regarding the number of
student in each level of the department and the capacity of halls to be
allocated.
3 To providing a fast and efficient system of managing halls for examination
thereby reducing time wastage, strain and high labour input.
4 Design and develop a central database system that would serve as hall
database which will contain information on all available halls in the
institution.
1.4 Significance of study.
This research work will help in tackling this problem experience by the school in
providing an effective means of managing hall allocation for examination in our
school.
The use of the software in management is relevant in the following ways:
1 It will provide an avenue of allocating a hall to the right number of student.
2 Enable the management to plan on improving in time frame on examination
timetable.
3 The designed computer driven hall allocation will help to facilitate timely
allocation of hall to students and also have first hand information on the
statistics of students to be allocated in a hall.
4 Providing an avenue to consider that no students should have two
examinations in the same period of time.
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5 Enabling that the total number of students taking examination must not
exceed the capacity of the hall allocated and the same hall should not be
scheduled for two examinations at the same time except the size of the hall
is large.
1.5 Scope of the study
This project will be centered on the basic processes in hall allocation management.
This includes:
1 Building and designing a hall allocation system for examination for faculty
of physical sciences.
2 Knowing the time frame for each examination.
3 The capacity of the hall and the number of students to be accommodated.
1.6 Limitation of the Study
Some of the constraints that may have in one way or the other affect the outcome
of this work include
a Availability of materials.
b Inadequate power supply.
c Insufficient funds.
d The estimated time for this project deprive it from proffering solution to the
inherent problem in the RDBMS tool used.
1.7 Definition of terms
? DATABASE: This is the interrelated operation of an organized set of data
stored in a computer and can be retrieved and accessed anytime.
? ALLOCATION: This is an amount of space that is given to somebody or
something for a particular purpose.
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? WEB: A system for finding information on the internet in which document
are connected to other document using hypertext link.
? WEB-BASED: to be able to connect to and use the internet.
? HALL: A building or large room for public use.
? EXAMINATION: A formal test of knowledge or ability